Gangway

ABSTRACT

A gangway and method for producing a gangway for use at variable angles of inclination. The gangway has a plurality of trapezoidal steps flexibly secured to a plurality of sides. A plurality of railing posts are rigidly secured to the trapezoidal steps and flexibly secured to a handrail. The railing posts have a concave shaped portion adjacent to the trapezoidal steps which prevents contact between the railing posts and the trapezoidal steps as the trapezoidal steps are displaced when the inclination of the gangway changes. A plurality of runners are secured at an acute angle to the underside of the gangway sides. The distance between the runners is smaller than the distance between the sides of the gangway, reducing the difference in degrees of inclination between the gangway sides as a pontoon on which an end of the gangway rests lists.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of InternationalApplication No. PCT/DE00/01516, filed on MAY 14, 2000. Applicant alsoclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 of PCT/DE00/01516, filed on MAY 14,2000. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was notpublished in English.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a so-called gangway that isparticularly suited for embarking on ships that have to dock on afloating pontoon such as used, for example in seaports, where the tidalcurrents cause noticeable differences in the level of the pontoon inrelation to the wall of the jetty.

Such a gangway is known in the prior art from DE 198 20 780.8. The knowngangway is comprised of two parallel sides, on which steps are arrangedwith a defined spacing from each other, and on which handrails aremovably hinged on both sides on a railing, so that the handrails and thesides form a parallelogram with each inclination and the sides each aresupported at the lower end on a roller and rotatably secured at theupper ends, whereby the trapezoidal steps are flexibly suspended with aspacing from the sites in which the sides are secured. It was found thatsaid known gangway is afflicted with the drawback that the runners,which are secured on the undersides of the sides, have the same trackwidth as the sides over the full length. This may cause damage to thestairway, which, under normal operating conditions, compensates listingsof the pontoon of up to 12° when listings of the pontoon in excess of 6°occur at high tide.

Furthermore, the known gangways are normally comprised of two sidesarranged parallel with each other. The sides are secured in anarticulated manner at the upper end in the wall of the jetty andsupported at the lower end by two rollers. Said rollers move back andforth on the pontoon depending on the level of the seawater.

It is perceived to be a drawback in connection with the known gangwaysthat their adaptation to the conditions of the gradient of theindividual steps of the gangway cannot be carried completely whenchanges occur in the level, for example between the edge of the seashoreand a floating pontoon due to the tides, so that the entrance steps onthe pontoon and the exit steps on land have varying conditions of theirrespective gradients. This poses a heightened risk of tripping, whichmay lead to accidents and claims on regression. Furthermore, it isperceived as disadvantageous that only one railing post is arranged onthe sides of each step in order to avoid that neighboring steps andposts of the railing come into contact with each other at all angles ofinclination occurring during high tide and when the inclination of thegangway reverses. The resulting distance between the posts of therailing is distinctly greater than the maximum spacing of 12 cmpermissible on land. The public, which is used to uniformly spaced stepsthat comply with the regulations on land, therefore finds it difficultto adjust to step conditions that are varying within the confines of agangway. Due to the relatively wide spacing between the posts of therailing, a risk is posed especially for children who can easily stepthrough between such posts.

Therefore, the problem of the invention is to provide a gangway that issafely guided at high tide in order to mechanically protect the sidesand the steps against destruction.

Said problem is solved according to the invention with thecharacterizing features of the independent claims.

Additional features essential to the invention are specified in thedependent claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The gangway as it relates to the invention is comprised of two parallelsides, in which trapezoidal steps are suspended in a hinged manner witha spacing (R=s=K) from a fixed point, and a handrail is suspended foreach step parallel with the sides, and the steps comprise at least twostages of the railing whose line of alignment is arranged parallel withthe sides of the trapezoidal steps, whereby the railing post locatedclosest to the shorter side of the, trapezoid has a concave type ofbulging, and runners are arranged on the undersides of the sides at adefined acute angle (β) in relation to the longitudinal axes of thesides. Said runners are arranged in the lower area of the sides, andtheir mutual spacing (track width) (d) amounts to about half of thespacing (S) of the sides in the area serving as a support at high tide.

The sides are advantageously secured at the upper end of the wall of thejetty on a console, whereby the spacing K is effected by means of abearing block. The lower ends of the sides are advantageously supportedon rollers, which are rotatably supported in a U-shaped profile. In thisway, and owing to the fact that the two sides are connected with eachother in a fixed way, the stairway automatically exactly adapts tolistings of the pontoon in the normal range of such listings.

The spacing (R) is formed on the steps in an advantageous manner by twotabs which are disposed at a right angle in relation to each other,whereby one of said tabs is connected with the step of the gangway in afixed manner. The point of connection between the tab and the step isadvantageously located with a defined spacing (E) from the longitudinalaxis of the step, which takes into account unilateral out-of-centerloads acting on the step, so that the step and its attached posts of therailing are jointly forming a stiff frame.

The individual steps are advantageously provided with a trapezoidalshape and a multitude of railing posts are arranged aligned in relationto the running direction in a way turned by a defined angle (α), wherebythe posts of the railing extend parallel with the slanted side of thetrapezoid. In this way, the posts of neighboring steps are capable ofbeing displaced by sliding in next to one another in the way of slidingblocks depending on the inclination of the stairway.

It is a special advantages that the railing post located closest to theshorter edge of the trapezoid comprises a concave bulging located in thelower area, the effect of it being that said post of the railing is notdamaged by the longer edge of the trapezoid of the neighboring step whenthe inclination of the stairway reverses, on the one hand, and it ispossible, on the other hand, to maintain the spacing of about 12 cmbetween the posts of the railing as required under the pertinentregulations.

The use of so-called self-aligning roller bearings represents anotherbenefit. Said bearings are mounted on all steps and points of rotationof the handrail, so that no stiff connections of the sides of thestairway are created with the frames. This means that listings andinclinations of the pontoon are permitted to have some play withindefined limits that are permissible under applicable regulations (up to12° in sports facilities). This has the advantageous effect that thesupport rollers located at the lower end of the sides will never liftfrom the deck of the pontoon and that no slanted entrance is formed onthe gangway.

Owing to the rigid connection between the posts of the railing and thesteps, on the one hand, and the flexibility of the points of fixation onthe sides and handrails on the other, a parallelogram is describedbetween the handrails and the sides of the gangway with eachinclination.

It is especially very advantageous if the gangway as defined by theinvention is provided on the underside of each side with a runner thatis arranged at a defined acute angle (β) in relation to the longitudinalside of the side, whereby the size of the angle (β) is dependent uponthe general engineering design of the gangway. The underside of therunner is tangential in relation to the support roller; the angle βrepresents the flattest inclination of the stairway on which a person isable to walk, and is limited downwards by the thickness of the materialof the lowermost step plus a few millimeters safety spacing. What isprevented by this measure is that the mechanism of the rollers and thesteps will not be damaged by any negative inclination of the gangway,i.e. at high tide.

At high tide, each runner is resting on its own roller on the narrowside of the pontoon. With respect to its effective length, which resultsfrom the local conditions, its track width has to be selected adequatelynarrow that the maximum listing the pontoon can assume will list thefree end of the stairway by 12° at the most.

The length of the runners arranged in the lower zone of the sides isadvantageously a function of the respective side, or a function of thedegrees of listing of the gangway most likely to occur.

The load-relieving effect of a space-keeping means (tie rod), which ismounted in the lower area of the runners, is advantageous for theoverall stability of the gangway and the support of the steps.

The spacing of each individual runner or support surface r from theassociated side is advantageously selected depending on the type ofconstruction of the runners. The runners may advantageously be providedin the form of a solid profile having a cross section in the form of a“T”.

It is an advantage that the spacing of each individual runner from eachindividual side increases from the lower end of the runner in thedirection of and up to the upper end of the runner.

The cross sectional shape of the runners can be selected in any desiredway and is substantially dependent on the requirements the gangway hasto satisfy with respect to its stability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Now, the invention is explained in greater detail in the following withthe help of drawings. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the gangway (1) on a pontoon (2)and of a land-based point of support for different angles of inclination(7°; 19°; 40°).

FIG. 2a is a schematic presentation of the entrance on the gangway (1)supported on a pontoon (2), on which the support rollers (8, 8′) of thesides (3, 3′) are supported.

FIG. 2b is a schematic representation of the exit of the gangway (1),whereby the sides (3, 3′) are supported on the wall (13) of the jetty bymeans of a bearing block (25).

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the gangway (1) at high tidewith a negative inclination, whereby a sliding runner (23) supports theentire gangway (1) on support rollers 32 located on the edge of apontoon (2).

FIG. 4a is a top view of a plurality of steps (4), which are displacedby sliding one onto the top of the other in the presence of a steepinclination of the gangway (1).

FIG. 4b is a schematic, perspective partial view of the steps (4) withthe railing posts (9, 9′, 9″) in the presence of a relatively steepinclination.

FIG. 5a is a top view of the displacement of the steps (4) in thepresence of a negative inclination of the gangway (1), i.e. at hightide.

FIG. 5b is a perspective representation of the displacement of the steps(4) with the railing posts (9, 9′, 9″).

FIG. 6a is a side view of the upper area of the gangway (1) whose sides(3, 3′) are secured by means of a bearing block 25) with a spacing (K)from the console (26).

FIG. 6b shows the upper part of the gangway (1) in the runningdirection.

FIG. 7 is the top view of the upper part of the gangway with a step (4).

FIG. 8 shows the lower part of the gangway (1) by a side view.

FIG. 9 is the top view of the lower partial area of the gangway (1) withtwo steps (4) and a support roller (8).

FIG. 10a is the schematic side view of a lower part area of the gangway(1) at high tide, when the runners (23, 23′) are resting on the supportrollers of the pontoon (2); and

FIG. 10b is the top view based on FIG. 10a, showing a possible shape ofthe runners (23, 23′).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Three possible conditions of inclination of the gangway 1 areschematically shown in FIG. 1. The gangway 1 is mounted articulated onthe wall 13 of the jetty in the fastening site 12. The gangway 1 iscomprised of the two parallel sides 3, 3′ and a multitude of the steps4, which all are arranged on the sides 3, 3′ with the same spacing inthe sites 10. At the lower end, the sides 3, 3′ each are supported on afloating pontoon 2 on a roller 8, 8′. Different inclinations of thegangway 1 are caused owing to the different levels of the seawater atthe tides occurring in a seaport. The point of support on the rollers 8on the pontoon 2 rolls back and forth as the inclination changesdepending on the level of the seawater. The present example shows threepermissible positions of the gangway in which the latter can be used;the inclinations of said positions amount to 7°, 19° and 40°. The steps4 are flexibly connected with the sides 3, 3′ in the fixing points 10.In the center and upper areas of the gangway, a runner 23 is mounted ineach of said areas at a defined angle (β) in relation to thelongitudinal axes of the sides 3, 3′. Said runners rest flatly on thepontoon 2 at a degree of inclination of 7°. When the degree ofinclination of the gangway 1 is flatter than that, the runner 23 liftsfrom the deck of the pontoon 2 and is then supported only in a sitelocated on the edge 32 of the pontoon 2.

FIGS. 2a and 2 b show the lower area of the gangway 1 and, respectively,the upper area with the associated support points on the pontoon 2 andon land on the wall 13 of the jetty. As the stepped-on surfaces of theindividual steps 4, always have to remain horizontal irrespectively ofthe inclination of the stairway sides 3 and 3′, they are flexiblysuspended in the points of fixation 10 and 10′, respectively. In thepresent representation, the two first steps 4 located in the lower areaof the gangway 1 are symbolically provided on both sides with the threerailing posts 9, 9′ and 9″, which converge at the top end in such a waythat said three posts are flexibly joined with the handrail 5 in a pointof rotation 10′. The steps 4 are connected with the railing posts 9, 9′and 9″ in a fixed manner. The support rollers 8, 8′ on the sides 3, 3′have a defined radius (R) that defines the spacing of the longitudinalaxes of the sides from the deck of the pontoon 2. In the presence of theinclination of the gangway 1 shown, the runner 23 will not come intocontact with the edge or roller 32 of the pontoon.

FIG. 2b shows the upper area of the gangway 1 in the zone of the supportsite 12 on land. The steps 4 are connected with the railing posts 9, 9′and 9″ in a fixed manner and are flexibly mounted in the points 10 and10′. In this way, a parallelogram is formed between the sides 3 and 3′and the handrails 5 and 5′—which are connected with each other by therailing posts 9—at any inclination assumed by the gangway 1. It isimportant that the sides are secured on the wall 13 of the jetty with adefined spacing (K) over land. It is also essential to the invention inthis connection that the spacing (K) is the same as the support rollerradius (R) of the support rollers 8 at the lower end of the gangway.Another important dimension is the spacing (S) between the top side 14of the steps and the point of fixation 10 of the steps 4 on the sides 3and 3′. The spacing (S) has to have the same dimension as the spacings(C), and all points of rotation 10, 10′, R and K have to have the samedistance between each other and need to be disposed in a straight linebecause a uniform gradient ratio between the shoreline and up to thepontoon is assured only with such a geometry, notably at any seawaterlevel permitting a ship to navigate.

The spacing (A) of all points of rotation 10, 10′, R and K was selectedto amount to 31 cm in such a way that the gradient ratio of 23.8:20 isadjusted at low tide (40° inclination), which is just barely stillmanageable. At high tide (7° inclination), the gradient ratio changes to30.9:3.8. Navigation is usually suspended at said level of the seawater.If the tide rises even further, the sides of the gangway are no longersupported on the rollers 8, but according to the invention rest on therunners 23, 23′ which are secured on their undersides, in order toprotect the mechanism of the steps. This situation is schematicallyshown in FIG. 3. When it is present in the position shown, the gangway 1assumes a negative inclination, i.e. the deck of the pontoon 2 islocated at a higher level than the edge of the wall 13 of the jetty,which causes the runners 23, 23′ to slide on a roller 32 located on theedge of the pontoon 2. However, even inclinations in excess of 40° willnot cause any destruction of the gangway 1.

FIG. 4a shows the position of the steps 4 in the presence of arelatively steep positive inclination. The steps 4 have a trapezoidaloutline; a part thereof is shown in FIG. 4a. The angle between therunning direction 27 and the side 28 of the trapeze amounts toapproximately 23° in the present exemplified embodiment. The threerailing posts 9, 9′ and 9″ are arranged parallel with the side 28 of thetrapeze and are aligned with one another. The post 9 is provided with abulging 21. Owing to the trapezoidal shape of the outline of the steps4, the latter are capable of being displaced, sliding one onto anotherin the manner of a sliding block, and any contact of the steps 4 withthe railing posts 9 is prevented when the inclination of the gangwayreverses.

FIG. 4b shows a perspective representation of one side of the steps 4with the railing posts 9 for illustrating the position of the steps 4 atlow tide and thus a steep position of the gangway 1. Owing to thetrapezoidal shape of the outline of the steps 4, the front edge 29 ofeach step 4 slides past the railing posts 9″.

The inclination reverses at high tide. The front posts 9 each areprovided with a bulging 21, so that they will not be crushed by the rearedge 30 of the next step.

The corresponding positions of the steps 4 are shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b.

FIG. 6a shows the side view of a part of the upper section of thegangway 1. The bearing block 25 is secured on a console 26. The sides 3and 3′ are supported in a rotating manner in the site 12 with a defineddistance (K) from the surface of the console 26. The hollow profiles ofthe sides accommodate the point of fixation 10 of the steps 4 with adefined spacing (A). In connection with the type of fastening used inthe site 12 it is important to avoid listings that may be caused due tomovements of the floating body. The points of fixation 10 each aretherefore equipped on the sides 3 and 3′ with a so-called self-aligningroller bearing 22, which is not described in greater detail at thispoint. The self-aligning roller bearings 22 of the same type areinstalled in the sites of rotation 10′ of the handrail, so that thesteps 4 with the railing posts 9, 9′ and 9″, said steps being rigid perse, overall represent a flexible connection between the sides 3 and thehandrails 5. By virtue of the fact that self-aligning roller bearingsare employed in all points of rotation of the steps and the handrail,the goal so achieved is that the two sides absorb and compensate anylightly oblique position of the pontoon by two inclinations. This meansthat the rollers 8 located at the foot points of the sides will neverlift from the deck of the pontoon 2.

The railing posts 9 and the point of fixation 12 are shown in FIG. 6b inthe running direction. The bearing block 25 projects into the U-profileof the sides and supports the sides in a rotating manner in the point ofrotation 12. The U-profile is obtained by removing the lower side of apart of the hollow profile of the sides 3 and 3′. The spacing betweenthe surface 26 of the console and the point of rotation 12 assume apredetermined quantity (K). Low-torsion evacuation of forces is achievedby installing the bearing block 25 in the U-shaped fork of the sides 3.The suspension of the gangway 1 on land is realized in the present casewith the help of a flat steel box, which is not shown and described herein greater detail. Said steel box is referred to as a console. It isscrewed to the wall of the jetty or a foundation or cast together withthe reinforcement of such a foundation. The stairway exit and the twoconsoles, which are mounted on the bearing blocks 25, project beyond theedge of the shoreline. Recesses are disposed in between, into whichflanks of the hollow profile are lowered under normal operatingconditions of the gangway. The association of the plate of the consolewith the gangway 1 is established by a lattice grating not shown, saidlattice grating being identical to the one used for the steps. Thepublic is alerted to the gangway in this way one step ahead than itwould be if a covering of an entirely different type were used. It ispossible without any problems to equip the gangway at a later time witha lower handrail for children. By using the self-aligning rollerbearings 22 in all points of rotation of the steps and handrails, and byomitting rigid connections of the sides of the stairway with the frames,it is possible to permit both sides to absorb listing of the deck by twotypes of inclination, and to turn the handrails sideways in accordancewith the degree of listing. A strong support 30 that is connected withthe end post 31 of the railing protrudes beyond the support point 12.

FIG. 7 shows the top view of the area of the point of rotation 12 wherethe sides 3, 3′ are hinged. The self-aligning roller bearings 22 at thefixation points 10 are clearly visible there as well, said bearingsbeing flexibly connected with the steps 4.

FIG. 8 shows the side view of the lower area of the gangway 1. Therollers 8, 8′ are mounted on the ends of the sides 3, 3′ in a U-shapedprofile 15. The radius (R) exactly corresponds with the spacing of thesurface 14 of the step from the point of rotation 10 of theself-aligning roller bearing 22. The bulging 21 provided in the lowerarea of the railing post 9 serves the purpose of preventing the adjacentstep 4 from coming into contact with the railing posts if a negativeinclination of the gangway takes place. A runner 23 enclosing a definedangle (β) between the longitudinal axes of the sides is arranged belowthe sides 3, 3′. The angle (β) represents the minimum inclination of thegangway 1 and results from the spacing (A) and the thickness of thematerial of the first step 4. For example, with A=31 cm, the followingfollows from a minimum gradient of 3.77 cm of the steps in relation toone another:

 sin β=3.77:31=>β=7°.

FIG. 9 shows the top view of the lower area of the gangway 1 by acutout. It is essential to the invention that both the spacing (A) fromthe roller bearing 9″ to the axis 10 of the first self-aligning rollerbearing 22, and the spacing from the axis 10 of the first self-aligningroller bearing 10 to the second axis 10 of the self-aligning rollerbearing 22 are constant, i.e. that said spacing dimensions are the same.Owing to the fact that all axes of rotation of the steps 4, the supportwheels 8 and the sides of the stairway are arranged with a uniformspacing (A) in only one straight line; and that the dimension (R) of theradius of the support roller and the spacing of the top side of the stepfrom the axis of rotation of the step are identical dimensions, auniform ratio of the gradient is adjusted throughout, from a very flatto a very steep angle of inclination from the entrance step to the exitstep. With the exemplified embodiment shown in the present figure, thegangway 1 is in a horizontal position. The gangway 1 is closed fortraffic in said condition because the tide is high and the supportroller 8 of the entrance of the gangway is no longer resting on the deckof the pontoon 2. Starting from said position, the spacing (D) betweenthe railing posts 9, 9″ may be greater than 12 cm because the gangwaymay no longer be used.

FIG. 10a shows a schematic side view of the gangway 1 at high tide. Inthe present situation, the two runners 23, 23′are resting on two siteson the support roller 32, which practically represents the edge of thepontoon 2. The runners 23, 23′ are effectively supported only in apartial area of the runners, where the runners extend in a straightline. The line of extension of the straight-lined part of the runners23, 23′ tangentially touches the support rollers 8, 8′ of the sides 3,3′ on the periphery of the support rollers 8, 8′ of the sides 3, 3′. Ifthe pontoon 2 is listing, the sides 3, 3′ no longer remain parallel witheach other, i.e. the sides have different inclinations that have to beabsorbed by the play of the self-aligning roller 4=bearings 10. So as tomake such different inclinations of the sides 3, 3′ as minor as possiblewhen the pontoon 2 is listing to a high degree, the effective points ofsupport have to be converged as directly as possible, i.e. the closerthe effective points of support of the runners 23, 23′ are to eachother, the greater the degree of listing of the pontoon 2 is permittedto become.

FIG. 10b shows the top view based on FIG. 10a. In the presentexemplified embodiment, the curved runners 23, 23′ are secured on thesides in the two points 34, 35, and consist of solid profiles. Theeffective points of support 36, 36′ are each aligned in lines that inturn extend parallel with each other, which, however, is not necessarilyrequired for the runners 23 and 23′ to function. A space-keeping means37 (tie bar) is arranged in a suitable site on the runners, serving thepurpose of maintaining the overall stability of the gangway 1. Accordingto the invention, the spacing (d) between the effective support points36, 36′ of the runners 23, 23′ is smaller than the spacing (S) betweenthe sides 3, 3′.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gangway comprising: (a) a plurality of sidesspaced apart from each other in a substantially parallel manner;, (b) aplurality of trapezoidal steps flexibly secured to said plurality ofsides; (c) a handrail; (d) a plurality of railing posts flexibly securedto said handrail at one end, and rigidly secured to said plurality oftrapezoidal steps at an opposite end, wherein at least one of saidplurality of railing posts has a concave shaped portion in a regionadjacent to said plurality of trapezoidal steps; and (e) a plurality ofrunners secured to an underside of said plurality of sides at a definedacute angle in relation to said plurality of sides; wherein a distancebetween said plurality of runners along an axis parallel to saidplurality of trapezoidal steps is smaller than a second distance betweenan associated plurality of sides along said axis parallel to saidplurality of trapezoidal steps.
 2. The gangway according to claim 1,wherein said plurality of trapezoidal steps is rotatably secured to saidplurality of sides and said plurality of railing posts is rotatablysecured to said handrail at one end.
 3. The gangway according to claim1, wherein said plurality of runners are flexibly connected to eachother by means of a spacer.
 4. The gangway according to claim 3, whereinsaid spacer is arranged on a lower end of said plurality of runners. 5.The gangway according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of runners havea plurality of individual points of support and wherein a spacing ofeach individual point of support from an associated plurality of sidesis not constant.
 6. The gangway according to claim 5, wherein saidspacing of each individual point of support from an associated pluralityof sides increases from one end of said plurality of runners to anotherend of said plurality of runners.
 7. The gangway according to claim 1,wherein said plurality of runners has a round cross section.
 8. Thegangway according to claim 1, further comprising a support roller thatis rotatably mounted to an end of said plurality of sides.
 9. Thegangway according to claim 8, wherein said support roller, rotatablymounted to an end of said plurality of sides, is mounted in a U-shapedprofile.
 10. The gangway according to claim 8, wherein said supportroller, rotatably mounted to an end of said plurality of sides, has aline of extension which tangentially touches an individual point ofsupport of said plurality of runners.
 11. The gangway according to claim1, wherein said plurality of sides have an upper end that is flexiblysecured to a console, which is rigidly secured to a wall of a jetty. 12.The gangway according to claim 11, wherein said upper end of saidplurality of sides flexibly secured to said console, forms a point ofrotation with a spacing from said console which is equal to a radius, ofa support roller, rotatably mounted to a lower end of said plurality ofsides.
 13. The gangway according to claim 1, further comprising a firsttab, a second tab, and a flexible connecting element, wherein said firsttab is rigidly secured to said plurality of trapezoidal steps; saidsecond tab is disposed at a right angle to said first tab and rigidlysecured to said first tab, and said flexible connecting element iscoupled to said second tab and to said plurality of sides, wherein adefined spacing is formed between a top side of said plurality oftrapezoidal steps and a point of rotation of said plurality oftrapezoidal steps.
 14. The gangway according to claim 13, wherein saidfirst tab is located at a fixed distance from a longitudinal axis ofsaid plurality of trapezoidal steps.
 15. The gangway according to claim1, wherein said plurality of railing posts are arranged in asubstantially parallel manner with a non-parallel side of said pluralityof trapezoidal steps to which said,plurality of railing posts arerigidly secured.
 16. The gangway according to claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of self-aligning roller bearings, wherein saidplurality of trapezoidal steps is flexibly secured to said plurality ofsides with said plurality of self-aligning roller bearings and whereinsaid plurality of railing posts is flexibly secured to said handrailwith said plurality of self-aligning roller bearings.
 17. The gangwayaccording to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of railing posts islocated at a distance of not greater than 12 cm from each adjacentrailing post.
 18. A method for producing a gangway for use at variableangles of inclination, comprising: (a) flexibly securing a plurality oftrapezoidal steps to a plurality of sides spaced apart in asubstantially parallel manner; (b) rigidly securing said plurality oftrapezoidal steps to one end of a plurality of railing posts, wherein atleast one of said plurality of railing posts has a concave shapedportion in a region adjacent to said plurality of trapezoidal steps; (c)flexibly securing an opposite end of said plurality of railing posts toa handrail; and (d) securing a plurality of runners to an underside ofsaid plurality of sides at a defined acute angle in relation to saidplurality of sides; wherein a distance between said plurality of runnersalong an axis parallel to said plurality of trapezoidal steps is smallerthan a second distance between an associated plurality of sides alongsaid axis parallel to said plurality of trapezoidal steps.